Alice in Chains Vocalist William DuVall Recalls Being Detained at Own Home

Update: Since DuVall's posting, it has since been clarified that the incident in question took place about five years ago. DuVall meant to share the incident as part of an ongoing Twitter topic that's been used with the hashtag #AliveWhileBlack that's been taking place following the Ferguson grand jury decision and the Eric Garner case in New York. The story has been changed to reflect that information.

Alice in Chains vocalist-guitarist William DuVall tweeted yesterday that he was detained by authorities as he was entering his own home. While it seemed like the tweet was referring to a incident that just took place, it was later clarified by Alice in Chains' publicist that DuVall was referring to an incident that took place five years ago.

According to DuVall, he was once detained by police as he began pulling into his garage, being told that he did not live at his own home. Little is known on the situation at the moment, but the musician tweeted about the situation Thursday afternoon (Dec. 4), suggesting race may have played a role: "Detained pulling into own garage in W. Hollywood. Told "You don't live here." License SHOWS MY ADDRESS. Still held 30 mins. #AliveWhileBlack"

In the comments section to his tweet, Duvall also revealed, "That and much more happened to me. And I'm better off than most."

Earlier he reacted to the decision not to indict the police officer in the Eric Garner chokehold case in Staten Island, N.Y. He tweeted:

After the confusion about the timing of the incident, DuVall took to his Facebook page to clarify when it took place, but also went more in-depth about his experiences and how they relate to the current stories making headlines:

First of all, let me express my heartfelt gratitude for the outpouring of support I've received from friends and strangers alike over the last 24 hours. I am truly humbled and deeply moved. By way of clarification, the incident I described took place several years ago. I was inspired to recount it after reading the many ‪#‎AliveWhileBlack‬ and ‪#‎CrimingWhileWhite‬ posts coming up on Twitter yesterday. In my view, those entries provide one of the most riveting illustrations of the dichotomy at the heart of America that I have ever seen. What really struck me is the fact that those stories flooding in by the thousands are merely a fraction of the millions more we will never hear. These are the "small" stories, the "everyday" stories, the ones so deeply woven into the fabric of our lives that they almost become mundane. And therein lies the true nature and scope of the problem. The fact is, I have many more incidents in my life like the one I shared yesterday. But I am doing far better than most. I just wanted to lend my voice to the growing chorus. Because what's most tragic and sobering to me about ALL of these stories - whether they fall into the more graphically horrific category of an Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, or Michael Brown or whether they are of the more "mundane" variety like many of the ones currently being shared on Twitter, including my own - is that, almost without exception, any of them could have just as easily taken place 50 years ago. We have made tremendous strides as a nation, many of them in my own lifetime. I remain extremely proud of that. In the name of our ancestors who sacrificed so much to get us here and our children who will inherit this earth in our wake, we can't afford to idle and we can't fall back now. We have before us a golden opportunity to take yet another step forward. For all our sakes, I sincerely hope we seize it.

It's been a somewhat quiet year for Alice in Chains after a big 2013. The band did release a new video for 'Phantom Limb' this fall. The clip was directed by Roboshobo, who helmed the videos for several past 'The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here' songs.